merrion street

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and Minister O'Sullivan announcing the funding today

Minister for Housing Minister Jan O’Sullivan, today announced that 86 housing developments across the country will benefit from the €10m Special Resolution Fund announced in Budget 2014.

Announcing the funding while visiting the Fionn Uisce development in Galway City, Minister O’Sullivan said, “There has been substantial progress in tackling the issue of unfinished estates. Since 2010 the number of unfinished estates has reduced by more than 50%.

86 estates across the country will benefit from this funding. In total €10m in public money will be invested. This public investment has also leveraged an additional €12m from third parties (developers/lenders/bonds) which will be invested in these estates.

This investment has many benefits. It will make an immediate improvement in the lives of families currently living on unfinished estates. We estimate that there are more than 2100 families living on the 86 estates earmarked for funding. They have had to endure many years of frustration and I am glad that this will now be brought to an end. The investment is also good for the wider local community. Unfinished estates are often an eyesore in an area and this investment will resolve some of the most problematic estates. In additional the additional spending is good news for jobs in the construction industry with a total capital investment this year of €22m in public and private funding.

Work on resolving unfinished estates is continuing apace. The vast majority of estates will be resolved without public funding. Developers and lenders, working in partnership with local authorities are working through resolution plans for estates. However, there are a minority of estates that need some public capital to kick start resolution and this €10m fund will achieve that goal.